Palaeolithic

Early - Middle Palaeolithic

250,000 - 40,000 years ago

We start some 250,000 years ago when the Neolithic people of Europe were the dominant culture.

In this period the inhabitants of these islands were mainly 'hunter gatherers' living in caves or temporary open-air camp sites. Boxgrove in west Sussex is a good example of such a temporary campsite where evidence of butchered animal bones as well as flint tools attest to the use of this site during the earliest period of habitation of these islands.

While hominid remains have been found at Boxgrove there is no evidence of deliberate burial and indeed there is evidence that its death may well have been at the 'paws' of another animal, possible a wolf as both ends of the recovered tibia show signs of being gnawed by a carnivore. Even if this unfortunate individual didn't meet his end that way the influence of the carnivores would have tended to suggest that body parts could have been spread over a large area and equally suggests little thought given to providing protection to the remains.

This lack of apparent concern as to the disposal of the remains does seem to suggest that there was little or no thought as to any after life. It needs to be remembered that evidence is rather, OK very, scarce but we do have archaeological evidence for the living so the lack of any evidence for burial rituals must mitigate against the thought that there was a developed theology of death.

There is very little evidence for deliberate burial or rituals surrounding death in the middle Palaeolithic. There are 'cave burials' such as Shanidar Cave in Iraq but even there is still some debate as to whether or not this was actually a deliberate burial, simply an accidental death or even whether the remains were 'washed' into the cave via some natural process.

However the fact that remains from this period have been found in an articulated state suggest that the accidental deposit of remains is unlikely, but most certainly not impossible, to say the least.

There is evidence that burials did take place during the late middle Palaeolithic period in Europe with some 200 skeletons being known.

Upper Palaeolithic

40,000 to 10,000 years ago

Here burial practices varied widely across Europe considerably, with little in the way of a coherent pattern to the position of the body or orientation of the grave. However about 50% are associated with red ochre. We also see the introduction of grave goods such as tools and weapons, usually near the head, in the hand or close to the body as if placed in a pouch or pocket.

In Britian there are few examples of physical remains dating from this period. One example being Paviland, aproximatly 26,000 BP, which is on the south coast of Britain near the Gower Peninsula in south wales. Here an adult male, thought to be about 25 years old and about 1.7m tall, was excavated from a cave by William Buckland. Like burials found on the continent the body was sprinkled with 'red ochre'.

The Red Lady of Paviland was buried with what are thought to be grave goods. Ivory rods, an ivory bracelet, some snail shells and perforated sea-shell necklaces among other items.

At Gough's Cave in Cheddar, Somerset the body of a man was discovered and dated to approximately 12,000BCE. The remains were found to bear cut marks indicative of skinning and scalping indicating some have said cannibalism but most certainly some sort of 'ritual' around death.

This is the first sign that the dead were treated with any kind deference or indeed that any ritual or special concern was given to the dead or death in particular. That these people were treated 'differently' in death rather than simply being abandoned does suggest that the society of the time had begun to have an belief structure around death realising that it was something special.

The provision of the very practical grave goods, tools and so on, suggest that the people of the time had some concept of an 'after life' and felt that the dead would need access to the tools when they arrived in the 'other world'. The red ochre hints at a ritual / ceremonial burial practice as it would have little or no practical purpose in the other world and it is equally difficult to see any practical purpose it might serve for the people left behind in this one.